As a FEC owner or operator, you're probably wondering what the data says about when parties get booked. Here's some more information!
If you're a FEC owner or operator, you're probably wondering what the data says about when parties get booked.
Are customers still booking weeks in advance? Is Q1 still a critical period for FECs? What about the popular times when parties occur? Has this changed?
In this article, we'll answer the questions above with the data from our 2021 Online Booking Study.
In our 2021 Online Booking Study, you will find:
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Unlike previous years, Q1 of 2021 did not have much booking activity due to COVID spikes in certain areas and continued capacity restrictions.
Instead, an uptick in bookings occurred around March of 2021 and continued to remain between 7-9% throughout the rest of the year without any significant downturn.
That being said, Q1 is still an important time for FECs and event venues to campaign, market, and drive attention to party packages. We expect that in 2022, the data will show more bookings at the top of the year.
The majority of customers booking parties are still doing so about a week before their intended party date.
Compared to 2020’s numbers, this has increased by a few percentage points likely due to COVID spikes and capacity restrictions still being in a state of flux.
Compared to previous years, our “super-planners” that book anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks in advance have continued to decrease due to the reasons stated above and out of obvious health concerns. They’re still out there, though, so continuing to provide detailed information about your current safety protocols, restrictions, capacity, and current status on your website is critical.
The data we collected for this booking chart was based on Order Date, which is the date the reservation was made.
For in-house bookings, the most popular day was Friday, which has remained the same year-over-year. For online bookings, the most popular day to book was Monday, which has changed from 2020’s Wednesday. Overall, the most popular day to book was Friday.
Based on this data, you may want to consider running a Facebook ad with a promo code on Fridays and Mondays.
For in-house bookings, the most popular time to book was 4 p.m., which has changed from 2020’s 12 p.m. For online bookings, the most popular time to book was 11 a.m., which has remained unchanged.
Overall, the most popular time to book is 12 p.m., around lunch-time, when customers are likely to look up activities for the weekend.
The data we collected for party bookings was based on Party Date, which is the date and time that the party was to happen.
No surprises here - for both in-house and online party bookings, the most popular day to have a party was Saturday.
For in-house party bookings, the most popular time to book a party was for 4 p.m. For online party bookings, the most popular time to book a party was for 2 p.m. Overall, the most popular time to book and have a party is 2 p.m. This has remained unchanged since 2020.
Based on this data, you may want to consider running a Facebook ad with a promo code specific to parties booked between 2-4 p.m.
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As a FEC owner or operator, you're probably curious to see what 2021's data shows about who books parties. Here's some more information!
As a FEC owner or operator, you're probably curious to see how 2020 impacted who books parties. Here's some more information!
Here are 5 key recommendations for FECs from our 2021 Online Booking Study.